Sri Lanka’s Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa on Wednesday urged the government to withdraw the current budget and present a revised spending plan tailored to support the more than 1.5 million people affected by Cyclone Ditwah. Speaking in Parliament, Premadasa said the existing budget does not reflect the country’s post-disaster realities and called for a short delay to prepare a new relief-focused budget.
He said Sri Lanka should convene an international donor conference to secure urgent humanitarian and recovery assistance. Premadasa added that if the government is unable to organize such a conference, the opposition is prepared to take the lead in coordinating international support.
Premadasa also called for immediate discussions with the International Monetary Fund to negotiate a new agreement. He argued that current IMF conditions are placing undue pressure on citizens and said a revised program could offer more space to protect vulnerable groups.
The opposition leader warned the government not to use emergency regulations to suppress the media or restrict democratic freedoms, saying the regulations should be used solely to support disaster-affected communities.
Citing the scale of the devastation — 465 deaths, 366 people missing, and tens of thousands displaced — Premadasa called for a national day of mourning and for a unified national plan focused on relief, reconstruction, and rehabilitation. He said state officials, tri-forces personnel, police officers, and volunteers had provided exemplary service and deserved recognition.
Premadasa further urged the government to revise outdated circulars to allow officials to deliver assistance quickly, stabilize food prices by addressing what he described as a “black-market mafia,” and adopt a coordinated national development framework that prioritizes recovery of agriculture, fisheries, tourism, and essential services.
He also questioned why an emergency disaster declaration was not issued despite advance warnings, and called for an investigation into gaps in early warning systems, including delays in communicating forecasts and the absence of a functioning Doppler radar system.
Premadasa said politics must be set aside during a national crisis and reiterated that the opposition stands ready to work with the government to rebuild the country. (Newswire)